Colossal cave in Mexico that formed 15 million years ago is even more enormous than we thought [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

By Lydia Smith published about 16 hours ago

The Sistema Huautla in Oaxaca is the 10th deepest cave on Earth, and a explorers with a 2023 expedition to map the system have added over 700 feet to its length.



Explorer Brad Wuest descending into an entrance pit in the Sistema Huautla cave system in Mexico. (Image credit: Chris Higgins)
The deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere — the Sistema Huautla in Mexico — is even longer than originally thought, scientists and cavers have discovered.

Cave

explorers expanded the map of Sistema Huautla, a cave system in the Sierra Mazateca mountains in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, by 728 feet (222 meters). This means the known length of the cave is just over 62.7 miles (100 kilometers) — but further exploration may reveal it is even longer.

Sistema Huautla, the 10th-deepest cave in the world, was first discovered in the 1960s by cavers from Austin, Texas. Since 2014, researchers have carried out annual expeditions as part of the Proyecto Espeleológico Sistema Huautla, or Sistema Huautla Speleological Project (PESH) to find out more about the enormous underground labyrinth.

Sistema Huautla is 5,118 feet (1,581 m) deep — equivalent to around four Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other. There are 26 connected entrances to the cave, which is estimated to be up to 15 million years old, according to the statement.







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https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/colossal-cave-in-mexico-that-formed-15-million-years-ago-is-even-more-enormous-than-we-thought